Good, Bad and Ugly: Looking at how Tennessee thwarted Florida’s upset bid

It was an outcome that was not unexpected overall, but Florida football made a game of it against the Tennesee Volunteers in Knoxville on Saturday afternoon.

Coming into Neyland Stadium with a lot more questions than answers, the Gators nearly kept pace with Josh Heupel’s high-flying offense, battling it out to a 38-33 loss. Much of Florida’s success rode on the shoulders of quarterback Anthony Richardson, who broke out of his passing funk to finally score his first touchdown through the air while also leading his team on the ground.

However, the redshirt sophomore’s efforts simply were not enough to overcome quarterback Hendon Hooker and a clearly superior squad. The Orange and Blue made it interesting into the final minute, but alas, its five-game losing streak came to an end.

Take a look below at Gators Wire’s quick reactions to Florida’s gritty loss to Tennessee in Good, Bad and Ugly format.

Adam Dubbin – Managing Editor

Syndication: The Knoxville News-Sentinel

GOOD: Anthony Richardson had one of his best days passing-wise with a career-high in yardage while keeping his team in the game. He also had some success on the ground, which we all know is a key ingredient in opening up the air game, but nonetheless, it was good to see him progress after a couple of weeks of regression.

BAD: Florida’s running game was stymied by the Vols’ defense and some blame goes on a subpar performance by the offensive line. There were some moments of brilliance but overall the Gators were not able to control the ball like they needed to avoid a shootout.

UGLY: Way too many big plays were made by the Vols. Every time it felt like the momentum was shifting, Tennessee made huge gains either passing or rushing, and there was no shortage of chain-movers. Florida simply did not have the personnel or the game plan to match what the home team had to offer.

David Rosenberg – Assistant Editor

Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

GOOD: Yes, Anthony Richardson is back, but can we give the guys on the other end of the catch some recognition. Justin Shorter hauled in seven receptions, and the tight ends combined for five catches after pulling in just seven over the last three weeks. A win would’ve been nice, but it’s hard not to be impressed with the offense as a whole after this one.

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BAD: Penalties. The Gators were penalized 10 times for 47 yards on Saturday, including a bizarre unsportsmanlike conduct call on Napier after he argued with the referees. I know it’s loud in Neyland Stadium and that this was the team’s first road game of the year, but some poise would go a long way for this team.

UGLY: There were at least two separate occasions that the defensive backs blew coverage and left a guy wide open for Hendon Hooker. Trey Dean seemed to be the name attached to the worst offenses, and that sort of thing can’t happen if Florida is going to win any of its big games this year. Maybe it’s time to see some more [autotag]Kamari Wilson[/autotag] out there at safety?

Pat Dooley – Staff Writer

Syndication: The Knoxville News-Sentinel

GOOD: Well, it looked like Anthony Richardson got his mojo back. The numbers were staggering and he looked like a different player than the one who had such terrible body language a week ago. Both [autotag]Justin Shorter[/autotag] and [autotag]Ricky Pearsall[/autotag] went over 100 yards receiving.

BAD: You figured Florida would need to control the clock with the running game to have a chance with this one. Richardson led Florida in rushing with 62 yards, but the three-headed running back was not effective at all. [autotag]Trevor Etienne[/autotag], [autotag]Montrell Johnson[/autotag] and [autotag]Nay’quan Wright[/autotag] combined to rush 25 times for only 79 yards, an average of 3.16 yards per attempt.

UGLY: There are not enough adjectives to illustrate how poorly the defense played. At least, not enough we can repeat. Florida got those early turnovers but then decided not to cover all of the receivers and never forced Tennessee to punt the entire game. Really, really ugly.

Sergio De La Espriella

Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports

GOOD: The passing game has finally arrived. Richardson looked like the QB we saw against Utah, with a career-high 453 pass yards and 4 TDs on the day. Also, Napier might be the best fourth-down play caller in the nation. I don’t know if going for it on 4th down so often is a good thing long-term, but it seems to be working. Credit to Napier for playing until the end of the game. Previous staffs would have called it quits with eight minutes left. Install that championship mentality now so the Gators can reap the benefits in the future.

BAD: We knew going into this game that the defense would struggle. [autotag]Ventrell Miller[/autotag] played through an injury, which should be applauded. But the lack of depth was exposed by an uptempo Tennessee offense that made plays when it counted. Credit to the defensive line for showing up in sparks, but that lack of consistency and depth is what will lose the Gators a few more games this season.

UGLY: That failed two-point attempt sure came back to bite us. I would say it was an isolated event, but Napier had some questionable decisions in previous games this season. I guess that’s the other side of the “4th down genius” coin. Also, it’s time to play the young guys that Napier brought in. Multiple veterans that have been on the team for a long time need to make way to give the young guys some time to work through their mistakes. This year was always a rebuild. Let’s expedite that process by giving the young guys some important reps.

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